Folk on trial in the days of ancient Rome tended to be men and tended to fear loss of some key ‘assets’ rather keenly.

I have spared ‘David’s’ blushes in the photo above but I think you get the picture.

No, scrolling down won’t work.

Anyway, when promising to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth they would place their hands…well…you can fill in the blanks here.

It lends trust.

The problem is, when it comes to too many testimonials that I read on websites or that are increasingly read out by politicians, the lack of detail does exactly the opposite.

‘M Smith’ may well think your widgets are amazing, as may ‘B Jones’ or to add greater veracity, ‘P Piper of Peterborough’.

The problem is, too many people don’t believe them. They are not proper testimonials as there is no ownership. No traceability and ultimately, no proof.

Now, in some situations, this may be unavoidable due to data protection and confidentiality issues. If that is the case, I’d argue you are better leaving them out altogether UNLESS people can ask you for the reference following agreed clearance by you and your client.

Sometimes, that can add an extra layer of trust, especially if you work in a very discreet industry.

If you struggle gaining true testimonials, the best tactic is actually very simple. Just ask.

You can point people to your Google Reviews, mine are HERE and yes I need more or you can use your LinkedIn endorsements or extract them and put them on your website. Again, here’s a few of mine and crucially, you can see the people who left them and even click them to go to their LinkedIn profile.

That is great proof and adds another layer of trust as the people testifying are able to be seen in greater detail.

So if you are looking into this area for your own marketing material, don’t be scared to ask, do make it easy for people to leave reviews and don’t be tempted to ‘fake it ’til you make it’.

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